Think you know everything there is to know about masturbation? Well, chances are you don’t. Though it seems like a simple act of self-pleasure, there’s actually more to it than most people realize. While most people associate masturbation with being an act performed primarily by men, the reality is that both men and women engage in self-pleasuring activities in fairly equal numbers.[1]
Unlike men, women are far less likely to admit it, and most women will not speak openly about it with their friends the way that many men will. But just because men are more accepting of the act doesn’t mean that they have it all figured out. There are a lot of questions surrounding masturbation. Many men actually wonder if their technique is abnormal, or if they engage too often in the act of self-stimulation. Other people wonder if it is safe to masturbate.
READ Top Things Every Woman Should Know About Masturbation
The truth is that masturbation is safe, most of the time. Many people express concern about the safety of masturbation.
When masturbating, an individual can achieve self-pleasure and orgasm without the risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Engaging in sex with a partner is far more likely to put you at risk of pulling a muscle or straining your body than if you were to engage in masturbation.[3]
There are still laws of physics and biology at work, regardless if the sexual experience is enjoyed alone or with a partner. Frequent and excessive masturbation can cause skin irritation on the penis or vagina, as can vigorous or aggressive masturbation.[4]
When a man masturbates in the face down position, for example, when thrusting the penis on a pillow or towel, it can result in permanent damage to the urethra. This urethral damage can cause the urine to exit the penis in a spray that is difficult to direct and control, rather than in a normal streaming pattern. In extreme cases, though rare, the damage can be so significant that the man must urinate sitting down because using the spray is so difficult to control that using the urinal becomes impossible.[5]
Another possible danger associated with masturbation, is penile fracture. Penile fracture occurs when the soft tissue surrounding the penis tears as a result of the penis striking a hard object or being forced down during an erection. Though rare, it is an emergency that requires immediate medical attention.[6]
Facts About Masturbation
Masturbation Can Help or Hurt Your Sex Life
In some relationships, engaging in masturbation can be beneficial to their sex life. Masturbation can be an effective tool for self-exploration. It can teach individuals about their own sexual response and alert them to what works and what doesn’t work. By uncovering what feels good and what does not during self-pleasure, masturbation can help individuals communicate with their partner what steps to take in the bedroom and how they want to be touched.
Masturbation can also be beneficial when one partner’s sex drive is much stronger than the others. But masturbation can hinder your sex life if one partner frequently prefers self-stimulation over sex with a partner.
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Masturbating while being in a relationship is perfectly normal and can be good for the relationship, as long as it isn’t consistently preferred to sex with your partner.
Some Types of Masturbation Can Cause Sexual Dysfunction
More common for men than women, sexual dysfunction can occur if an individual frequently masturbates in a way that causes stimulation that is different from the type received from sex with a partner. An example is vigorous stroking with heavy pressure or very rapid movements. In men, this can lead to retarded or delayed ejaculation, a type of sexual dysfunction which makes it impossible to reach an orgasm with a partner. Individuals who find that they can only achieve orgasm via masturbation need to communicate with their partner and demonstrate what they find pleasurable. If the partner can find a way to mimic the same type of stimulation that is achieved during masturbation, it is possible for the individual to learn to reach orgasm with a partner. In some cases, a visit to a sex therapist may be in order.[7]
Individuals Who Have Sex Will Masturbate More Than Those Who Don’t
Though the opposite may appear to be true, the fact is that individuals who engage in regular sex are more likely to masturbate than those who do not. The theory is that people who masturbate are generally more in tune with their sexuality, which means they are more likely to have sex more often than those who do not masturbate.
Masturbation Acts as a Pain Killer
Studies have shown that many women who masturbate experience a decrease in PMS and less intensity and frequency of their menstrual cramps. Women reported that masturbation during PMS led to a decrease in irritability and moodiness.[8]
Other studies have revealed a correlation between masturbation and migraine relief. Although the underlying mechanism responsible for pain relief during masturbation is not clear, it is believed that the orgasm may cause pain suppression that inhibits migraines. [9]
The research found that sexual activity relieved the pain of migraines or cluster headaches, severe, one-sided recurring head pains, for up to a third of patients. Some of the patients even reported using sex as a kind of headache therapy.[9]
Men have also reported that masturbation can lead to pain relief for a variety of conditions, ranging from relief from headaches and body aches to relief from pain associated with broken bones, muscle sprains and common colds.
There is no right or wrong way to masturbate. There is no limit to the different types of masturbation techniques. Many men, and some women, wonder if there is anything abnormal about their masturbation technique. Most sex experts will agree that there is no concrete definition of what is considered normal in terms of masturbation, however sexual addiction is possible — it is any sexual activity that feels "out of control", and this could be sex with your partner, but it can also mean activities such as watching pornography or masturbating.[10]
Women who masturbate have higher confidence than those who do not.[11]
There is a wide variety of both technique and frequency when it comes to self-pleasure. Because the human species is so very diverse, it is almost impossible to establish a concrete norm in terms of sexuality and masturbation.
What works for some may be vastly different from what works for others. While some men choose to simply use their hand or hands, other men may require more stimulation than a hand can provide. Many people rely on sex toys or even household objects to pleasure themselves, some find pleasure in rubbing their genitals on items such as pillows or rolled up towels. Some people choose to wear special clothing or require visual stimulation from a magazine or erotic video. Chances are that whatever masturbation technique you engage in for self-pleasure is normal, safe and healthy: masturbation can be prescribed as a medicine in order to improve both general and sexual health of individuals and of the couples.
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